Chapter 8: VIII. Am I the Next Dean?

VIII. Am I the next Dean?

His gaze met Shen Yaoqiao’s by chance.

The latter blinked with malicious intent.

As if to say, you botched the act, didn't you?

Little girl, don't force Old Master Qin to kill you to silence you.

Qin Yuan pretended to scratch an itch and made a throat-slitting gesture.

Shen Yaoqiao curled her rosy lips and looked away.

Before long, the mature, beautiful, and radiant Huang Ying led a group of guests inside and sat at the main table.

Sweeping her gaze across the room, she found it amusing to see Qin Yuan had run off to a side table.

Others would beg to sit at the main table, yet he hid far away.

He didn't look like a spirited, ambitious young man at all.

A daughter can slack off, but a son-in-law cannot.

Thinking of this, Huang Ying spoke up: "A-Yuan, come over to the main table."

Suddenly, many eyes searched for the A-Yuan the Dean had mentioned.

Some sent voice transmissions, others whispered to each other.

It was incredibly busy.

Soon, pairs of envious and surprised eyes fell upon Qin Yuan.

Qin Yuan: "..."

Why can't you just let me be a quiet little doggy?

Is the main table a place for a small fry like me at the Qi Refining realm to sit?

You, a dignified Dean, can't you follow some rules?

The management of Luzhou Academy didn't know Qin Yuan's inner thoughts, otherwise, they would surely have smiled bitterly.

When has our Dean Huang ever followed the rules?

Especially in the past few years.

The academy had just issued a notice forbidding takeout, and she was the first to break it.

On her first day as Dean, she publicly declared that dating did not violate school rules.

One day when she was in a bad mood, she wrecked someone's child's full-month banquet.

A foreign female cultivator with a powerful family background publicly confessed her love to Shen Zhilu, and she cut off the woman's ears, nearly causing a war between the two sides.

While other academies relied on sucking up to otherworldly beings and uniting this or that to grow their strength, she advocated for putting one's own people first.

"Still not coming over?"

The gloating Shen Yaoqiao kicked Qin Yuan under the table, neither too hard nor too soft.

Shen Yaoqiao's intimate gesture made the eyes of A-Fei and A-Ji, who were at the same table, flash.

Qin Yuan, who was still monitoring every move of the people around him, was speechless.

If they knew Shen Yaoqiao was always pouncing on me, they would be so angry they'd spiral into the sky on the spot.

After this thought flashed by, Qin Yuan stood up slowly and walked toward the main table with a look of reluctance.

The people watching him really wanted to hit him.

To be invited personally by the Dean was such a great honor; if it were them, they would have jumped for joy, yet he looked so unwilling.

Qin Yuan didn't get far.

Shen Yaoqiao twisted her infinitely charming waist and chased after him.

With Qin Yuan gone, she had no interest in sitting at the side table.

Arriving at the main table first, she stretched out her soft, smooth hand and patted the chair beside her lightly.

"Sit."

Qin Yuan had wanted to sit on the other side, but a big shot had sat down there first.

He couldn't exactly fight a big shot for a seat.

Helplessly, he sat down beside Shen Yaoqiao.

Seeing Qin Yuan sitting there in such awkward distress like a shy young bride, Shen Yaoqiao couldn't help but giggle.

She looked up and saw the whole table staring at her.

Two blushes instantly climbed onto her pretty cheeks.

To ease her daughter's embarrassment, Huang Ying spoke up: "Just last night, Qiaoqiao reached the Great Perfection of the first level of the Spirit Refining realm."

Her voice was loud, her chin held high, and she was radiant—no different from an ordinary parent showing off their child's grades.

"Student Shen is truly a genius among geniuses."

"As expected of the daughter of the Dean and Teacher Shen."

"Those two useless things of mine are far behind Qiaoqiao."

All sorts of honey-coated praise made Shen Yaoqiao even more embarrassed.

"Qiaoqiao is good at everything,

it's just that she's too lazy; she fishes for three days and dries nets for two. Her father and I are worried to death."

Huang Ying did a bit of humble-bragging.

Even though everyone was long used to Huang Ying constantly showing off her daughter and husband,

they were still incredibly sour.

Most of the students present received critical glares from their teachers and elders.

It really drew a wave of hatred toward Shen Yaoqiao.

Fortunately, Shen Yaoqiao had strong connections and was beautiful enough, otherwise, she would surely be plotted against in the future.

Having satisfied her vanity, Huang Ying stood up, coughed, and said: "Everyone, quiet down."

The previously noisy hall fell silent.

Everyone stared at Huang Ying without blinking.

Everyone loved this extraordinary woman who combined beauty, personality, and wisdom in one.

(Except for the management.)

"Before the banquet begins, I have a very important matter to announce."

Some teachers from Luzhou Cultivation Academy subconsciously looked at a middle-aged man with exceptional demeanor and appearance, whose lumbar disc seemed to have some issues.

The middle-aged man puffed out his chest and put on a solemn expression.

"I am officially resigning from the position of Dean, and the position of Dean will be assumed by Wu Yong."

The teachers and some of the higher-status guests were not surprised.

They had long received word that Wu Yong would become the new Dean of Luzhou Academy.

The students and some of the younger guests were very surprised.

This Wu Yong looked intimidating, but in reality, his level was only upper-middle at Luzhou Academy.

They couldn't understand why such a person was allowed to take the position.

Could it be because of his herniated lumbar disc?

Compared to the other young people, Qin Yuan was more concerned about the Dean's exclusive Dao weapon, the Divine Iron Staff, that his godmother was about to bring out.

It was said to be made of Dragon Blood Gold, the twenty-first ranked immortal metal on the Immortal Gold Ranking.

There was also a tragic story about Dragon Blood Gold: a very, very long time ago, an Immortal Dragon in another world broke through the shackles of heaven and earth and rushed out of the Boundless Sea, only to encounter a Demon Child.

The Demon Child possessed boundless magic power and, with a wave of his hand, skinned and deboned the Immortal Dragon. The dragon's blood spilled into a Great Thousand World, and any stone or plant it touched turned into Dragon Blood Gold.

Boom!

A roar that struck the soul directly.

The Divine Iron Staff.

Qin Yuan widened his eyes.

As if he were looking at a peerless delicacy.

Amidst the dazzling light that one could not look directly at, a staff-shaped Dao weapon appeared above Huang Ying's head.

Strands of Source Qi like waterfalls hung down, magnificent and breathtaking.

Many people found it hard to breathe; those with high cultivation had faces turning bright red, and those with low cultivation had veins bulging on their foreheads.

On one hand, it was the pressure brought by the Divine Iron Staff.

On the other hand, it was excitement.

The Divine Iron Staff was one of the nine famous Dao weapons in the Central Plains.

It was forged on a night of thunder and lightning.

Known for its super-strong attack power and mystery.

Qin Yuan glanced toward the exit.

If anyone were to fight over it,

he would be the first to retreat.

Although the possibility of such a thing happening was very low, Qin Yuan did not let his guard down.

"I will certainly not let down the trust of Dean Huang and everyone."

Wu Yong reached out his rough, calloused hands and took the Divine Iron Staff with a heart full of excitement.

After enduring for so many years, he had finally obtained the Divine Iron Staff.

Originally, ten years ago, Wu Yong had the opportunity to become the Dean.

With the strong support of the previous Dean, and given that it was a critical moment in the war against the otherworld, Luzhou needed the wisdom of Huang Ying and the martial strength and prestige of Shen Zhilu; the young Huang Ying bypassed him to become the Dean.

"Hmm."

Huang Ying’s delicate brows furrowed slightly.

Her slender, smooth hand gently covered her flat abdomen.

Anyone with a slightly higher cultivation level could sense the chaos in Huang Ying’s aura.

"Mom."

Shen Yaoqiao said with concern.

Qin Yuan saw at a glance that his godmother had disturbed her fetal Qi.

Qi-Boosting Fetal-Calming Pill: refining it requires seven days and eighteen types of materials.

Fetal-Nurturing Great Array: precise setup requires twelve days, rough setup requires five days, and thirty-three types of materials.

In an instant, many plans flashed through Qin Yuan’s mind.

He even imagined various accidents that might occur during the execution of the plans.